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He added: 'Words cannot express how we feel at this time.We are in mourning and wish you to respect our privacy'.

Shark expert Hugh Edwards said he was 'almost certain' that a Great White was responsible for yesterday's attack.

He said 'it could not be ruled out' that one shark was responsible for all the attacks. The three other deaths took place within the last six months.

Experts from the Fisheries Department have begun an investigation to confirm that the killer was a Great White.

A sea and air search has been launched off the coast on a hunt-and-kill mission for the shark.

Beaches north and south of the town of Busselton were closed as the hunt began.

Mr
Tony Cappelluti, of Western Australia's Department of Fisheries, said
that Mr Gian Kurmann had reported seeing a 'dark, shark-like shape' in
the water but he could not identify it.

'We are not speculating about the species at all,' said Mr Cappelluti.

The exact species of shark has not been confirmed but a great white shark was spotted in the area around the time of the fatal attack

He said an aerial surveillance team had seen what might have been in a shark in the area. Divers have been ordered to stay out of the area, which is popular for its numerous reef and crayfish.

The state's Premier, Mr Colin Barnett, said he was concerned there had been four fatal shark attacks since February.

He added that while he did not support culling, there was a need to review the restrictions placed on fishermen catching sharks.

Police said Mr Kurmann, from Vasse, near Busselton - his wife is a local councillor - had anchored his boat about a mile off Stratham Beach and was diving with his brother when he was attacked shortly after nine o'clock in the morning.

In September last year 21-year-old body-board rider Kyle Burden was killed by a shark near Bunker Bay, south of Perth.

Then in early October Bryn Martin, 64, was killed in an attack while swimming at Perth's popular Cottesloe Beach.

Later that month, 32-year-old Texan George Wainwright was savaged and killed by a great while shark while diving of Rottnest Island, near Perth.

In January tour operator David Pickering was mauled by a tiger shark while snorkelling off Coral Bay, in north west Western Australia. His injuries were not life-threatening.